92 Quotes by John Kani

'Captain Marvel,' whereby the steel trap is challenged, where the hero is a heroine, where the most powerful person who has the welfare of the future of the human race is a woman. What else can it be? Because that was the role of my mother when I was a kid.

We are sort of not at the level of entertainment that the Western world is. Everything we see on the play in the screen, we read, we take serious. We take that it speaks to me. And so wonderful to see how the Johannesburg, South African audiences will say: What does it say to me? What does it make me feel? Why am I celebrating it?

I want my work to contribute toward creating a better society, toward bringing people together. That is always the first consideration, not the money.

'iNkaba' has made me famous in the living rooms of the people of my country. It was almost like being famous all over again. People stop me in the street and shopping malls to take pictures.

I have never been attracted to television work. Even to appear in series and soapies. I have always appeared in theatre and major movies, writing plays and other things.

If we'd lived in England or America we'd have told stories abut our lives and nobody would have called it protest theatre. But the reality of South Africa was the arrests and detentions and oppression - we could not escape that, so we decided to take it on.

When I was asked to write a concept for a telenovela, I didn't underestimate my non-experience in the field.

Working with my friend Sir Antony Sher is truly one of the highlights of my career as an artist.

We've got the right to vote, but what does it mean? People now want to have the right to a job, the right to education, the right to medical services.